Soldiers forgotten
by BrokenSidewalk
Summary: A crack team of soldiers that were abandoned turn on their leaders. Please review! Three new chapters up!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam or any of its characters. All characters in this story were made up by me.

As she walked into the bar she felt a sense of foreboding rush over her, making her senses go awry. Her vision blurred from the drinks she had previously consumed, she shambled up to the bar. "Bartender.....give..me...a...Drink". As the man looked her over he noted that she was hideously drunk and could not possibly hold any more alcohol. "No can do miss, your drunk enough already". The bartender felt saddened

when he looked away from the young girl, she looked like she no longer cared for her life.

"What's your name girl?" he asked just to create conversation since she wouldn't go away. "None of your goddamn business, dammit". Her speech was slurred and he noticed that she was falling asleep on the bar. It hadn't been the ideal time to talk to her, since she was drunk and was trying to catch some sleep on the bar. He scowled as drool dripped onto the table. He always ended up having to clean the bar and cleaning up the body fluids left behind by these drunk people was sure to be a mess.

When she woke up she was still at the bar. Her head pounding, she wondered why they had not kicked her out. She couldn't remember what she had drank, and quite frankly where she was either. She walked over to the door and tried to leave. She hit the door repeatedly with her hand. "Jesus! I can't leave and I have to get to roll call!" she started panicking. A head poked out of a nearby door frame and was startled by the person whom was banging on the door. He had thought that they would be outside. Sighing, he pulled the keys out of his pocket and shoved it into the keyhole.

It took a skill to open that door, the inside of the lock had been damaged when some punks had tried to break into the bar. They both walked out of the bar and in separate directions, He towards the outskirts of town and her to the center. Neither knew where the other was going, and that might have been a good thing.

As she slipped into the line for roll call she desperately hoped that they had not called her name already. "Jamal, Johnson, Johannes," she sighed in relief. "Kasumi?" "yes sir," she replied slowly, her headache still going strong. Alright men, we move out in 0700 hours, so be ready, make sure your mecha is in good repair and fully outfitted for jungle battle. She nodded her head, not really listening because she had read the briefing previously. She was part of a special team which was adept at fighting in all situations. She took a couple aspirin and prepared to get her Gm special powered up.

As he walked into the Zeon encampment, he noticed that everyone was running about getting their Mobile suits ready for battle. He slapped his head, remembering that it was the day they would finally try to take over the city. He ran over to his suit and sighed in relief at a sign that roll call would be taken once they were suited up. Remembering the girl, he thought about how she had been talking about roll call. And she definitely was not on the side of Zeon. Too bad she would have to die for such an inadequate cause.

Feeling a rush of excitement as he jumped into his suit, he almost forgot to ammo up. That might have been his end right there if he hadn't suddenly realized that a huge amount of lights were blinking. It needed fuel, ammo, and various coolants just to keep it running. His Zaku 1 was rusted and battle scarred from various encounters, and the nuclear core was damaged. The smell of leaking coolants and oils was overpowering to him as he sat into the cockpit and was glad that he had a filtered air supply through his helmet.

All the other soldiers complained when he started up his mobile suit, mostly because of the smell, and also they were slightly jealous. The Zaku 2 had not been much of an improvement over the Zaku 1, and most people had decided the first one had been the best. The first had higher mobility and reflex ratings, as well as the cockpit design was much more intuitive than the second. It used much more fuel to run also. He was glad that it had survived the Odessa wars with him, otherwise he too would be using a Zaku 2. he finished up his repairs and other tasks and joined the other suits for roll call. "Sargeant Akira! Front and Center!" He started to walk his suit up to the front, and he didn't get a good feeling about what was going to happen next.

Kasumis' GM plodded through the jungle, silently and off radar. These special GM's had a special coating on the outside preventing it from being seen on radar, and thes special wide feet kept them from being seen on sonar. They were virtually invisible. That is, until they were seen. They had been painted to match the jungle, but as usual, it didn't really match and it was kind of pointless. She was still tired and had a slight headache, but she knew that she would make it.

As The squad of GM's came closer to the target spot, they knew something was wrong, very wrong. All of a sudden a Zaku 1 crashed down onto the head of a GM, crushing it with monster like force. From that point on she knew they were screwed. Kasumi maneuvered her mobile suit in a full 180 degrees and hoped to dear god that it wouldn't overload the core. Her mobile suit was quirky. It didn't always work like she wanted it to. Kasumi wasn't the only one though. Most of their suits were so powerful and so specialized that only the pilot that they had been made for could use them. The drawbacks to these suits were also quite strange. For some reason the core and engines of the suits had not been upgraded, making them slower and less reliable. But that didn't matter right now. They only wished to survive.


	2. Rough existence

The battle raged on as the Zeons and the Federation collided with gargantuan force. Sergeant Akira was fighting for his life. These federation troops were like nothing he had ever faced before. They just kept coming, and were not frightened by his hasty entrance. If anything, they were more angry than before. He suddenly grew conscious of A sniper GM. "Dammit! I've got a sniper on my tail" He yelled over the suits comm system, but deep in battle no one replied. As he turned to shoot at it as to destroy it, the GM took its shot. Time slowed down as the bullet approached his mobile suit. The Engines flared as he pushed his suit as hard as he could to get out the way. The foot slipped in the thick marsh of the forest and he didn't quite make it out of the way. The shot penetrated his shoulder armor and blew through the mechanisms. As it passed out through the other side, the arm blew off as a coolant hopper exploded. His engine heat levels passed into extreme territories as he kept the suits' balance. He pulled his machine gun up to bear and unleashed a volley of bullets at the sniper.

Kasumi was pinned down by enemy fire. She managed to get a few shots off at the enemy before he was able to redirect his aim. These soldiers were no pansies. They had the guts to keep fighting, even when the odds were against them. There were six GM suits left in operation out of the original 8. The Zeons had started out with five and now were left with four. The odds were definitely in her favor. One thing bothered her though. There seemed to be no leader. There was a Zaku 1 in the mix of enemy suits, but there was no true leader. "Kasumi! More suit inbound from the north-east!". She took a moment to take down the suit at hand. When the moment was right she jumped out of her hiding spot and began a charging attack at the Zaku 2 that was directly ahead. As Kasumi began running she put her suits enhancements into effect. As the Zaku 2 sprayed her with gunfire she hit a button and was tossed up airborne by extra thrusters on the back. She then hit another button and began to barrel roll around the incoming fire. Taking out her beam saber, she sliced through the gun of the Zaku and then finished it off with a slice to the cockpit. This all took place in a matter of seconds. As she finished she took a look in the direction she was prompted to. Her pupils retracted in fear as her eyes widened.

There must have been at least 15 more suits arriving. This fight had suddenly gone to hell. Swearing to herself she ran and took cover closer to the other Gms. She had been wrong. There was definitely more than 15. More and more suits dropped in from various ships, hundreds of enemies pouring into the large jungle. "Sarge! What are we going to do?" she asked in a shaky voice. "We're gonna take out as many of these little bastards as we possibly can, soldier! We will not desert the federation, we cannot give up this city!". Kasumi then finally understood why the Zeons wanted the city. The tactical position and numerous mobile suit factories were all that the Zeons needed to get the upper hand. That was also why they were there.

The fighting continued to be fierce. The federation troops had received reinforcements and were now fighting back. There were numerous destroyed mobile suits laying around. There was no time to change ammo clips. One just emptied one weapon and picked up the next. But then the tide changed again. Slowly a few groups of Federation soldiers were allowed to retreat. After a while it was only Kasumis' unit that remained. Fighting for their lives, they suddenly hear a broadcast from the Federation officials. A warning came over their comm. It was too fuzzy to make out, but it didn't sound good.

And it wasn't. They could tell by the shape and size of the missile that it was nuclear. Their superiors had decided to bomb the area as to keep it from enemy hands. They were the sacrifice, the unwanted, the unclean. Mysteries and rumors came to bear as the missile buried itself deep into the forest. They hit the deck and hoped for the best. A small explosion sounded, then a huge shock wave tore through the forest, destroying all the trees and whatever else had been standing. As it passed over their heads, the impact finally hit. All the cameras on Kasumis' mecha exploded and everything went white.

While fighting the GM sniper Akira had taken many hits. One arm gone and his ammunition run out he ran to grab the snipers' weapon. As it was within his grasp a large shadow crossed over his prone frame. A three round burst of bullets ripped through the outer layers of his Zaku 1 and slammed into the engines. They exploded minimally, thank goodness to the fact that he had run out of coolant and oil. He was knocked unconscious. As the shock wave ran through his suit the already crushed components were barely damaged by the wave. When the cloud cleared, there was no longer a forest. Charred suits and foliage was everywhere. Kasumi groaned as she woke up in her suit. Her eyes once again grew wide as a horrific site pulled her out of the shock she was in. A charred body was hanging off the front of her suit. She could see his bones, charred and inhuman. But that wasn't what scared her. A single eyeball had rolled out onto her face as the body quickly decomposed.


	3. close call

When Akira woke up he knew something big had happened. He didn't know how long he had been out, but it must have been a long time. He groaned in pain, his forehead bleeding. He crawled out of the remains of his mobile suit. He was pissed off. That thing survived the Odessa wars, only to be destroyed in one measly battle against a single platoon of GMs. He looked around astounded. The entire area was a charred plain. The lush jungle that had once been was no more. His husk of a mobile suit had only been able to save him because of one reason. It had been damaged before, and where the gaping hole that had been ripped into the back of the suit a huge sheet of lead gundanium armor had been placed over the hole, about the size of a jet pack. He was glad that he had decided to give the verniers up. That one small decision had determined his fate. It was immensely hot, The humidity making hallucinations in his head. He couldn't think right. Right away he knew that he had to get out of there.

The Burning rays of the sun beat down on him, his uniform ripped and tattered. The radiation left by the bomb was interfering with his brain functions. This was no ordinary nuclear bomb. It was an APR. Anti Personnel Radiation. It was bad. After the initial explosion, the survivors were wiped out with the surrounding radiation. The only fault to the APR was that if the person was to survive to be rescued, it could all be reversed by a use of a certain chemical. And certainly some counseling. They had all been prepared for a situation like this, and he finally understood why they had drilled it so far into his head. He went back into his destroyed Zaku 1 and grabbed a bag that he had stowed under the seat. It held some of the chemical, as well as some food and other medical tools. He had a long walk ahead of him.

Kasumi felt more tired than she had ever felt in her life. This was worse than she had ever felt in the morning after getting drunk the night before. She could barely think. She stumbled as she walked over the rubble of her GM. She began to see specks in her peripheral vision and they slowly turned to blackness. She couldn't walk any longer and decided to sit down. As she sat on the ground she passed out and fell into a mild coma.

Akira was dehydrated. He knew that he needed to find shelter, but he couldn't think of where to go. He decided slowly to enter the city and walked to the area of where his bar used to be. The building had been pretty much leveled, except for the safe where all the liquor and money was held. It had survived the blast. Too bad the door had already been damaged by what few people were still living in the city. He glanced at his watch only to find that it wasn't working. The watch had a built in transponder which told him and his superiors his vital signs and location. He swore as he realized that he was now as good as dead. Not knowing what to do he left some of his possessions in the safe and then walked out to check out the rest of the town. He knew that there should have still been a small amount of the army base still intact, because of the high level of security and the bomb shelter that was present. He sat down on a nearby piece of concrete and tried to think. It came to him that there might still be some mobile suits in a hangar of some sort in the base. He walked over to the barbed wire fence and began climbing over it.

The captain of the federation troops was still alive. Clutching his arm, he walked from GM to GM trying to find supplies and maybe survivors. He had survived a situation like this before, but he didn't know whether he had the guts to do it again. He eventually found his way over to Kasumis' GM, but could not see her. He began to believe that she had been incinerated by the explosion. He found, upon further inspection, the extra supplies were missing and suddenly he felt that he could need to search for her body, at the least.

His mind flashed back to the moment he had promised to take care of Kasumi. She had been chosen for a special unit of soldier who would be taught to use any suit possible and have many other abilities and other solutions to survive. She had not wanted to join, but since this was the military there was no choice in the matter. They were to simply do what they were told. He had promised her that no matter what he would take care of her, and if he failed to do that, at least take her remains back to her family. Her father and mother did not know where she was. They thought that she had died in an auto accident at the age of six. It would have been the least that he could have done for them. The flashback ended, and he came back into reality. He had to find that girl.

Akira walked through the halls of the seemingly deserted military base. He just couldn't find the hangar. This place was like a maze. There were no signs or maps to tell you where you were or where you wanted to go. He walked down yet another hallway and turned left. To his surprise he was met with the barrel of a sawed off shotgun. His eyes opened wide as he saw who was at the end of it.


	4. Dangerously edgy edited

Chapter 4

This wasn't good. There were two things that had gone wrong in the same second. A gun to his face, and the man behind the gun. The face of the man was scarred and disfigured, his lips twisted into a permanent sneer. He snorted, and smiled. "Well, Well, Well, look what I have found". His smile quickly turned into a frown. Akira Had a flashback of the fateful battle in which his private hell had started.

A huge battle raged on in the background. But they were oblivious to it. It was just the two of them, engaged in battle, vying for supremacy. A scarred and battered Zaku dominated the GM. Quickly shoving its arms into the chest of the GM, he ripped out many vital components. Akira was startled. It wasn't dying, there was no sign of damage. Though missing one arm, it picked him up and threw him. His Zaku crashed into a nearby building. The Gm grabbed a MP-80 and fired with great precision at the cockpit of Akiras' suit. Bullets ripped into the armor surrounding the pilot, barely leaving room to breathe. There was a heat hawk in the corner of Akiras' eye. With the GM barreling at him, time seemed to slow. He grabbed the heat hawk and started to bring it up as the GM slammed into him. The Heat Hawk had been just at the right angle. It sliced through the engines of the GM, setting it on fire. The screams of the pilot had been audible as he went up in flames. He saw that face, even though it was for a split second through the flames. When they came to look at it later... they found no body, no signs that there had ever been a pilot. They assumed he had been painfully cremated.

But he knew that there was one now. It was standing right in front of is face. The cold hard reality of the man set in. This guy was one not to mess with. "Turn around! And put your hands on the wall". The man quickly frisked him, finding a small pistol in his pocket. "Do you know who I am? Do you know who you tried to kill? You tried to kill me. I was defeated by a weakling! One without power! I am all powerful! There is no way for you to beat me again!". The mans eyes were bloodshot, red to the core. This man was definitely insane. There was no doubt about that fact. But maybe he could use it to his advantage to get out of this situation. If only he could think just a little faster.

Sergeant Johnson stumbled over a small body on the ground. Not knowing what it was, he only took a quick look. He started to walk away, but then on a random impulse he turned and had another look. Lying there on the encrusted ground was a frail but living Kasumi. "You scared the living hell out of me, dammit". He smiled in relief. He wouldn't have to take a body back. He picked her up and with his remaining strength he walked towards the city. There had to be someone else that is alive, and when they found him, he hoped to dear God that it would be the right one.

Night started to fall as he carried her into the outskirts of the city. Their fight in the jungle had brought them over from their starting point. That had been shoddy job. They could have done better. He had noticed early into the day that Kasumi had a hangover. And yet he still let her come. He should have kept her back, to make an example of her in front of the troops. But for some reason he had not been able to bring himself to do it. He had weakened over the years.

All the stress of the fighting, the stress of his first encounter with the bomb. He had spent years trying to keep a hold of his sanity. He no longer could hold it off. He just hoped he wouldn't bring someone down with him. He shook it off, taking one small task at a time. Such as getting Kasumi to shelter. Her breathing was getting erratic. "This could end badly, he thought".

Akira

He was running out of options. He had tried to bargain with him. This man was fragile. He needed to be very careful. His head was still fuzzy. He still couldn't think right. Glancing at the man ranting in front of him, he noticed something that he had previously missed. The mans right knee was bleeding. The bone showed through the exposed skin. He slowly moved his leg closer to the mans leg. As the man continued ranting, he lifted his foot slowly. Quickly he slammed his foot into the mans knee, displacing bones and crushing others. As his foot remained in the air, the man bent over at the waist. He raised his other foot into the air and kicked the man in the head. Landing on his first foot, he spun around and ran in the direction that the man had come from.


	5. Broken

Akira

His chest started to spasm in pain. This wasn't the worst stitch that he had ever had, but it was pretty rough. He turned corner after corner. These buildings weren't built to be easily maneuvered, making it hard for him to get to where he needed to. All he really needed was a MS, any kind, something that would run. He turned a corner, starting to panic. All of a sudden he ran straight into a huge metal object. Falling to the ground, he looked up at the pole. There it was, a map. He could now finally get to where he had been trying to the whole fucking time. It was four corners ahead. The sound of footsteps pricked his ears, making him hurry to get himself up and steady. His knee was in bad shape. Discolored and bent slightly to the side, he suddenly realized that his knee was broken. He touched it, sending pain through his body, making him almost want to scream. But he couldn't, he was being hunted. He had no time to waste. Swearing to himself he pushed himself even harder to compensate, bright pain searing through his leg.

He turned the final corner, in a mad dash to make it to the suits before his enemy did. If there was any. It was dark, no light penetrating the deep underground levels. He must have been between a mile to two underground. A soaking moisture hung in the air, the humidity was stifling. Not that he could tell anyways. His vision swam, the pain reaching his brain, and then him slowly pushing it down the the deepest cavities of his body. Turning his head, he saw it, not quite realizing what it was until he ran into it.

A highly modified GM. This was not your ordinary modifications either. Six sets of vulcans were inlaid in the head, creating a spread of fire, a deadly arrangement. The armor encompassing the entire surface area of the mobile suit was painted a fiery red. The paint scheme could not cover up the scars and battles that the suit had seen though. Some sort of strange arms were crossed on its chest, as if it was a mummy. Gigantic scythe like blades sprouted out from a shield on each arm. No guns though... and thats what he had hoped he would find.

The man rounded the corner. His bloodshot eyes almost matched the deep red of the suit, the color of blood. He snarled as he saw Akira slide into the cockpit, his eyes suddenly opening wider as he realized that he no longer had the upper hand. Dropping the shotgun he had in his hands, he began to run. As the shotgun hit the floor, the collision with the ground set the ammo alight. Buckshot ripped through his back, into the deepest bowels of his being. He fell down and did not rise again...

As he carried her into town he realized just how urgent it was for him to get Kasumi to a doctor. The only problem was, he knew that there was no one else alive... or at least thats what he thought. He swore, tears welling up in his eyes. It looked hopeless, a lost cause. But he knew that he couldn't bring himself to give up, to give in. He kept walking, Kasumi growing heavier with each step.

This carrying had caused deep fatigue on his arms, soring even the deepest muscle. The lactic acid built up, hurting him. His knees crumpled beneath him, giving out. He fell onto his forearms, making them bleed. He picked himself up slowly and entered the closest building. You couldn't really call it a building any more, but the basement should be intact. He walked down the stairs, and gasped when he opened the basement door. Faces, eyes looking at him, pleading for help...

He stumbled back, falling over as he tripped on one of the basement steps. The remained frozen for what seemed like eternity. No one moved, scared that something bad might happen. Faces of children, old men and young alike stared back at him. Several of them were armed. Holding their guns pointed at him, a man stepped forward.

"What do you want from us? Why have you come here?" The man grilled him with questions, his ice cold eyes piercing Sergeant Johnson's skin, making his hair stand on end. Slowly, he replied, as if in a trance. "I thought that it was empty... I thought that I could shelter here and not disturb anyone"... he replied weakly, his lame excuse only angered the man more.

As the man walked forward he suddenly noticed the fragile body of Kasumi sitting outside at the top of the worn and dirty stairs. He walked around Johnson, making his way to her. The Sergeant quickly turned around started to move towards Kasumi at a lightning rate, only to be stopped by 3 guns in his face. Knowing that he could not take all three of them in his current state, he sat back down and prayed that he would not hurt her.

Miraculously, the man did quite the opposite, picking her up and carrying her in. he put her down on the single bed in the room, calling a man to his side. After quickly assessing her wounds, he called council with two of the armed men, leaving one to guard Johnson. They slowly broke up, all going to different places. They had not come to a decision yet. Her wounds seemed serious enough, but they did not know whether they could spare the medical supplies to treat her. They would come to their final decision in an hour. Or at least thats what the old hag had told him. They had tied him up and put him in the corner, leaving him there until they had come to their decision.

Knowing that this very decision could save or doom Kasumi's life, he hoped to dear God that they would help her. They met for the final time after an agonizing period of two hours. As they walked over to talk to him, he almost dreaded their decision, paralyzed in fear and pain...


	6. Lost

Johnson

"You may not stay here" the man said, his eyes still piercing the skin of Sergeant Johnson. "You may not stay here because you will be a threat to our well being" Johnson was astonished. How could they turn away a man who has nothing? A woman who needed help desperately? He turned his eyes down, looking at his feet with a blank stare. He was in deep thought. He did not know what to do next.

"However, we have decided that you may stay until we have treated your friend for her injuries. But, after this you must leave us". The man's cold blue eyes softened, even if it were for a second, and then hardened again, becoming what seemed like a brick wall. However deep it may be, this man still was kind. The Sergeant relaxed, and ebbed into a deep sleep. Only now did they realize just how fatigued he was.

Akira

He sat there for what seemed like eternity. The body lay on the ground, the shotgun still smoking. Only now did he realize just how precious life was, and how easily it could be taken away. At this point he came back to reality. He couldn't go back they thought that he was dead. They would have answered the S.O.S by now, and quite frankly, he didn't think that they cared. They were a drafted unit. However professional they were, the unit would still be expendable. Forever were his friends gone, after all they had gone through.

It was back in high school that Akira realized that he was doomed to be drafted. He no longer could live the calm inner city life that he loved so much. As soon as the government men showed up, he knew that something was wrong. His mother answered the door, and he hid in the kitchen, peering out from around the wall. His mother wailed, crying, begging them to not take him. They merely pushed her aside, and walked towards him. His mother told him to run, but he was frozen to the spot. His feet were like lead, unmoving, numb. And as if in a trance, he followed the men out to their car, looking out at his mother as they pulled away, never to see her again.

He returned from his flashback, realizing that the mobile suit was running. He swore at himself, knowing that he could have burned a 5th of the tank by now. Looking at the fuel gage, his eyes widened. He was running on fumes. How long had he sat here? He wondered. It was then he realized that it was how the man had reached him, burning the precious fuel to come to this base. He did not know why the man had come, and quite truly, he didn't care. All he knew is that that man had died before, he had watched him. It sent shivers down his spine.

He heard a sudden rumbling outside the hangar, and immediately became worried. He could recognize a mobile suit engine from a mile away. And he knew that this one was very heavily outfitted. He counted two, then three. And then suddenly, it became strangely quiet. With his current fuel amount, he could fight them for roughly an hour or so. Looking around the hangar, he noticed an odd shape. Turning on the lights on the mobile suits head, he suddenly felt joy swell up inside him.

Kasumi

She woke up to strange faces. Though still under the drugs from treatment, she knew that she had never met these people in her life. She looked around, trying to find a familiar face. She really truly had no idea where the hell she was. She then realized that something was touching her leg. Looking down, she saw a sickening sight. A man was performing surgery.

He eyes widened as she realized that the man was about to relocate her shin. It must have been dislocated before. She tried to scream for help, but nothing came out when she moved her lips. She felt a strange pop, and hoped to dear God that that was the shin bone going back into place. A woman rushed over and shoved a needle into her arm, sedating her further. She once again fell into a deep sleep.

She dreamed. It was an odd dream, a man was talking, but she couldn't hear him. He was dressed in a torn uniform, his eyes a deep blue. At times he would go silent, as if waiting her response. Slowly, it seemed like the man was getting angry. He turned into a dragon, flames spewing out of his mouth. As he lunged at her, she woke up.

Sitting up suddenly in bed, a great pain washed over her. It felt like her leg was on fire. Her head hurt, the dull pain reaching into the deepest parts of her brain. She looked around slowly, not wanting to trigger that pain again. She saw Johnson, sitting the corner asleep. It occurred to her that he was tied up, and tried to find some reason. As she tried to get out of bed and walk over to him, an old lady stopped her. "You must rest my dear, for you are very ill". Kasumi knew that this was true, but she really wanted to see him. She propped herself up in bed instead, wishing to see what was going on around her.

Johnson

When he woke up, he felt much better. They had treated him too, for he also had the radiation sickness. It was gone, thank goodness. He probably couldn't have lasted much longer himself. He was still worried about Kasumi though, for they had just performed surgery to fix her leg. Once they were cast out of this peculiarly large basement, they would have to fend for themselves. It would slow them down. Knowing that the Federation had given up on this sector, they didn't know how long it would be until the Zeons saw it fit to be used by them. It was only a matter of time.

It bothered him. They had used them as a diversion to bide time for the nuke. They had been labeled "expendable". It mostly worried him because they had been the top unit in the Federation Ground Forces. This meant that they were getting desperate, which was never a good sign. He frowned. There was no reason to go back to the people who betrayed them... but then again there was no way that they were going to Zeon. He still believed in what he fought for, and it was going to stay that way.

He had chosen from the beginning that he was joining the Federation in order to create peace. That was his sole motive for entering the army and endangering his livelihood. He would have it no other way. He had been so hell bent on getting this peace , he did not realize that the Federation was becoming corrupt. More and more of the higher ranking positions were filled with people who hated Zeon because they wanted a war. They were crazy, battle hardened people. They had no second thoughts about killing innocent people.

All these thoughts went through Sergeant Johnson's head. He found no conclusion in the long run, but rather to leave it until Kasumi and himself were up on their feet and ready to make a decision. A boy tapped him on the shoulder. "Sir, you are to follow me". He admired the boys courage, and fell in step behind him. He was lead to a partitioned section of the room, and told to enter. He saw the man from earlier sitting behind the desk. He motioned for him to sit down. Once Johnson was seated, he opened his mouth to speak...


	7. Desperate lives

_Authors note: the reason for the story being so slow is that its still being set up for the intricate plot that I have devised. This is the last chapter of setup, and the following chapters after this one will be more... "compelling" Thank You for understanding._

Akira

He was overjoyed to see the fuel canisters lined up against the wall of the underground hangar. He moved as quickly as he could while being quiet. He pulled the suit over to the canisters and had it kneel. This operation usually took two to three men, but he would have to pull it off himself. He attached the nozzle to the side of the mecha, making sure that the pieces were aligned. Then the fuel pumping began. Reading the gauge on the container, he was dismayed to find that it was not enough to top off the tank, but rather about half. That wasn't good enough, he wouldn't be able to hold them off for very long. He would have to take them out.

After finishing the fuel up, he removed the nozzle. It slipped from his hands and fell onto his knee. Yelling out in pain, the noise echoed through the large chamber. If they didn't know that he was here, then they would definitely know now. He limped back into the modified GM, turning it on fully. Though he had multiple short range weapons, he had nothing in the ways of a rifle. He would have to force a close combat assault...

Kneeling, he twisted his upper body around the corner, peering around, he made out four mobile suits. Three GM's and one gundam. The GM's would pose no challenge but the gundam could be deadly... Twisting back, he came to a full stance and started walking towards the suits. One of them turned to face him, raising a gun. Akira didn't flinch, he kept walking towards the enemy. The suit lowered its weapon. Opening the hatch, the man from inside called out to him.

"Hey! We've been waiting for you for a while! We thought that you might have been hurt!" The man became confused at his companions silence.

His mouth gaped in horror when Akira deployed the two blades attached to his arms. The huge scythe like blades gleamed in the sunlight, menacing, beautifully deadly. The young soldier tried desperately to get back into his suit, trying to close the hatch when Akira reached him. Time slowed down as the sharp blades carved through the suit, tearing through the right shoulder and ending at the groin. The generator exploded in the older model GM.

The other two GM's reacted quickly, bringing their arms to bear. Turning the Modified GM's head, he fired the vulcans. The six barrels churned out projectiles at an alarming rate, spraying the GM's and making them take cover. One lucky shot managed to take out the main camera on the furthest GM, making his job even easier. Rushing towards the closer of the two, he quickly butchered the suit in two, separating the legs and head. The halves crumpled, and then exploded, exposing Akira's GM to extreme heat and some major damage to one of the arms. The arm sparked, wires and parts hanging out of the gash in the armor plating. But he had not time to waste.

The other GM was shooting wildly, Trying to hit something. It was amazing that Akira had been able to take out the two cameras with the single quick spray of bullets. He shoved the suit down, crushing its arm with his foot. Taking a beam saber out, he penetrated the cockpit, ending the pilot's life.

Suddenly he was hit in the back with an rpg, destroying the jet pack, and totally disintegrating most of the upper back armor plating. But, he was lucky once again. The tank rounds had not been made for such deep penetration, and the backpack had created a layer just thick enough to provide sufficient protection. The round didn't reach the cockpit.

Staggering, he turned around. Running towards his enemy, he raised a shielded arm. It was the same arm that had just been damaged not 30 seconds ago. Dropping the rpg, it grabbed its machine gun and fired. Protecting the cockpit, the arm disintegrated under the extreme force of the rounds slamming into it. Slamming the suit to the side, he hid around the building. He moved silently but quickly, trying to get behind his foe. His only armaments were the vulcans and the one blade. This guy was smart, keeping his back to a corner. Akira went to the other side, waiting to pounce at the perfect moment, looking at the infra red view screen in front of him.

The gundam shifted its weight for a split second, looking towards the sky and leaning on the wall. Akira thrust his arm through the wall, tearing through cement and various metal. The arm's blade shoved itself deep into his foes back, tearing through layers of armor. But the gundam pilot's reaction speed was amazing. He quickly whipped around, spraying the GM with multiple rounds through the big hole in the building, the Gundam's targeting systems were highly advanced technology allowing the Gundam's pilot to nearly completely neglect his camera views. The dust from the building was not a problem for the pilot. Covering the cockpit again, his arm's shield was torn to pieces. Luckily the blade and hand were not damaged. Jumping back, he activated the vulcans. The six barrels vibrated in all their glory as they spat out numerous rounds. He sprayed the gundam, ripping holes in its armor, ripping apart its hand. The barrels, from the extreme friction, burned out under the huge heat generation. He was left with the single blade.

But the gundam pilot remained steady, and unleashed a three round burst. Ripping through the right knee of the mecha, it tore apart various crucial mechanisms, spewing oils from the essential lubrication lines that ran through the leg. It blew out, a small explosion erupting from the joint, disintegrating parts of the leg as well. He was in trouble if he didn't think of something fast.

Sergeant Johnson

The man began to speak, "My name is Xavier Pullman. I'm sorry that we have to churn you out so soon, but to tell you the truth, this isn't just any basement. I am the mayor of this small town, and this is the bomb shelter. Since we did not have anything to do with this fighting, we thought it best to not accept anyone that we didn't know. Your a liability to us, you being non neutral. If the Zeons were to take over this town, then we would be killed for keeping you here. We did have our reasons. But since your friend has finished being treated, we have to have you leave here immediately". Johnson was speechless. It was only a few hours ago that they came to this place. He had hoped that they would be able to stay for at least a couple days.

Xavier knew very well that Kasumi wouldn't have a very high chance of survival. Johnson argued, yelling at the man, begging him. After sitting there and watching Johnson rant for a while, he grew tired. He became angry. Lifting himself out of his chair, he punched Johnson. He stumbled and fell to the floor, his face stinging with a throbbing pain. Xavier said one final word, a sign of his departure. "OUT!" Xavier grabbed some medical supplies and shoved them into a bag, not caring what they were. He threw the bag at Johnson, motioning at the door. Grabbing Kasumi by her arm, he carried her over to the door. Throwing her outside, he shoved Johnson through the door.

He sat there for an hour, wondering what to do. He became hysterical at times, wondering why he had to go through this hell again. Looking down at Kasumi, he cursed her for being so fragile, for being hurt. He threw punches at the rubble, making his knuckles bleed. He had nowhere to go, nowhere where he could take Kasumi. He dropped to his knees, exhausted. He sat there for a while longer, thinking, day dreaming.

_It was a wasteland, the black sand glinting in the bright sunlight. Private Johnson was dehydrated, demoralized. He couldn't think straight. He carried an empty canteen in one hand, A gun in the other. The metal burned an impression in his hand, the skin turning a dark pink. It was empty, a clip missing from the bottom of the handle. And yet he pushed on. His mind was empty of rational thought, nothing of use flowing through his head. Looking down at his arm he realized that he was hungry. His eyes glinted in the sun, a sinister look on his face. Biting into it, he dug his teeth deep. But before he could rip a bite out, he passed out on the smoldering sand... saving his arm from being eaten._

Johnson shuddered, looking down at his arm. His hand was scarred, the imprint of a gun there forever. His forearm was scarred deeply with bite marks, the scar tissue reaching the bone. He didn't want to go crazy again, he didn't want to die. Getting up off the ground, he grabbed the bag and Kasumi. He would have to find somewhere to spend the ever approaching night. The sun started to set as he walked, putting a time constraint on his life. If he didn't make it to shelter, then they were finished... They needed somewhere warm.


	8. Pain

Akira

His chest heaved up and down, adrenaline running through his veins. He couldn't run. The single blade was fairly large, yet virtually useless against a trained pilot with medium range weaponry. Akira was not one to give up though. He focused. There had to be something that he could do.

Quickly assessing the enemy mobile suit he noted weak points. The knees. If he were to cut out the knees the opposing pilot would not be able to return attack. In one final attempt he shoved the suit into movement. The verniers flared, fuel burning fast, the tank almost empty. The gundam jumped back, trying to avoid the GM's wrath. But the pilot of the gundam made one vital mistake, he threw full power into the legs, making the ground crumble out from below its feet. It was unable to escape the blade.

The jagged blade ripped through the knee joints. As it fell Akira thrusted the remaining hand into the midsection, and ripped out the generator. A small explosion erupted from the chemicals spewing out from broken hoses and reservoirs. He turned the suit away from the gundam, looking around for remaining enemies. He found none, relaxing for a moment. He limped his worn out GM towards the outskirts of the city, hoping that he could make it somewhere safe before reinforcements came...

Sergeant Johnson

Carrying Kasumi on his back made him tired... he was used to rigorous exercise, but this was pushing his limits. He made his way to the closest building, not being able to carry her any further. The floor was littered with debris. Furniture lay overturned, and there seemed to be a stench coming from rotting fruit. What he did notice though, was the building's boiler must have been intact, due to the fact that the room was warm. He sighed in relief, setting her down on a ripped and battered sofa. He then put down the bag and closed and locked the door, checking it twice over. It wouldn't do him any good if someone of the wrong set of mind came along. Taking off his jacket, he walked into the adjacent room.

And was instantly surprised and disgusted at his discovery. The smell of the..."rotting fruit" was coming from corpses that lay on the floor. Everyone of them had a large gash on their throat, as if the flesh had been ripped open by a large knife. He shuddered. He had the feeling that he was no longer alone.

Kasumi

She opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. She winced, her head aching. After propping herself against the arm of the sofa, she took another look around. Kasumi found no trace of her companion, and was instantly alarmed. She didn't like the smell of the place, in fact she found it rather disgusting... something moved. Or at least she thought. She looked around, checking for signs of movement. Something dripped on her face. She wiped her hand across her face in an effort to remove it. It was dark red liquid, crimson in nature. Her eyes widened, and she slowly brought her eyes to the ceiling...

Akira

The mecha lay collapsed in a pile of scrap metal, completely devoid of strength. He limped along, his body taxed from his previous battle. He seeked shelter, knowing that the nights could be harsh. He saw a single lighted building, and walked towards it. He knew that the light would gather attention, but he needed the power. He pushed open the door, and met an unusual site.

A girl lay poised on the couch, eyes wide open with fear, staring straight at the ceiling. On the ceiling was a grisly totem, a severed head. Quite fresh, from the amount of blood dripping from it. The killer... was no where to be seen. He looked carefully around the room, ignoring the grisly totem and the shocked girl. His eyes met with another pair... the light glinting in them, a dark pair of devious eyes. The figure grinned, showing broken and yellowed teeth. A large knife lay in its hands. The insane asylum uniform which he was wearing was no longer white, but rather bloody and dirty. This man was clearly insane.

A bullet rang out of nowhere, blasting a large hole in the crazy man's chest. He staggered, looking down at the gaping hole. Laughing, he keeled over, blood pooling around his body. Sergeant Johnson stepped out of the other room, the pistol barrel still smoking. Quickly noting their uniforms, he realized that they were federation. But, he didn't care anymore... he was too tired, too spent to care. He walked over to a large armchair and fell into it, his eyes closed.

Sergeant Johnson

Johnson stood there amazed. A Zion soldier had just strolled in and taken a seat in the armchair across the room. He had expected more of a confrontation. Walking over to the soldier, he checked to see if he was armed. The boy carried no weapon, no identification except for a name-card. "Akira" he said to himself, noting the age on the card. He shook his head. "Much too young for war", he thought to himself. The boy was spent, his body bruised and battered. Johnson's eyes softened, and he grabbed a blanket and threw it over the boy. No use in throwing him out.

He then walked over to Kasumi. She was still shaking, still noting the bleeding head above her. He quickly grabbed her and moved her over to the other side of the room, far away from the head and bodies. He then took the head and threw it in the other room, not wanting to see it himself. Locking the doors, he then lay down, dead tired.


End file.
